With the World Series over and the Hot Stove ready to ignite, it’s time to unveil a new feature for you here at RAB: the 2009 Draft Order Tracker. It is what it sounds like it is, a means to keep track of the changes in next year’s draft order due to free agent compensation. I’ll update the page throughout the winter and leave it up until next year’s draft so you can check back any time to see who’s picking where. Cool stuff, no?

We all know what happened Monday, there’s no need to go back over that. What we’re looking at tonight is a three-and-a-half inning mad dash to the finish, almost a sudden death baseball game.

The game will resume in the bottom of the 6th inning, tied at two. The pitcher’s spot is due up for Philly, so they’ll presumably announce a pinch hit for starter Cole Hamels. Grant Balfour is still in the game for Tampa, and was already announced in the 5th inning, so if Charlie Manuel goes to a lefty pinch hitter, Joe Maddon can counter with a lefty reliever without Balfour having to face one hitter first.

When the Rays come to back in the top of the 7th, Dioner Navarro will lead off, with the pitcher’s spot due up fourth in the inning. Philadelphia has a major advantage tonight because they have 12 outs to play with while Tampa only has 9.

The game should be a blast tonight, all the excitement of a postseason nail-biter finish without the drag of he first six innings. Brad Lidge hasn’t thrown more than one inning in an outing all season, but with everything on the line tonight, I suspect you’ll see him out there at the first hint of trouble in the 8th. David Price is available for multiple innings, and it’s pretty much a forgone conclusion that Tampa’s season will be decided when he’s on the mound.

First pitch is scheduled for 8:37pm, and this one might be over by 10. Imagine that.

Venditte, the Yanks’ 20th round pick in 2008, took home the Minor League Yearly Award for Best Reliever in a Short Season League. The ambidexterous hurler made will be remembered for an exchange with a switch hitter, but he was untouchable on the mound: 32.2 IP, 13 H, 3 ER, 10 BB, 42 K, .117 BAA, and a league leading 23 saves. Congrats to Pat. MiLBY today, Cy Young tomorrow.

Via The Taiwan News, Chien-Ming Wang was one of ten people selected as Taiwan’s Most Outstanding Young Men & Women for 2008. “Wang’s fighting spirit and superior career achievements have made him a role model for young people in Taiwan,” said Legislative Yuan Speaker Wang Jin-pyng, one of the judges. The award presentation ceremony will be held November 21st. Congrats to the Wanger.

Via Richard Justice, tonight’s completion of Game Five will be postponed until at least tomorrow due to ongoing crappy weather in the Philadelphia area. Tomorrow’s weather looks better, so they should be able to finish the game up then. I blame A-Rod for this mess.

Update (1:40pm): MLB is saying that the game will tentatively be resumed at 8:37pm on Wednesday in Philly.

The 2008 baseball season may come to an end tonight. It sucks, I know, but there’s nothing we can do about it. The only people capable of keeping the baseball season alive are the Rays, who (putting it bluntly) have played like shit the last two games. When your 3-4-5 hitters are a combined 4 for 44 with 16 strikeouts in the series, you don’t deserve to win.

Scott Kazmir will take to the mound for the biggest start of his life and biggest game in team history. The youngest member of the Rays rotation and winningest pitcher in franchise history will be relied on to keep Philly’s suddenly surging offense in check long enough for their sluggish offense to do some damage. A tall order for the Kazmanian Devil, but he’s up to it.

As if a 3-1 series lead wasn’t enough, Philly is sending their ace to the mound tonight, Colbert Richard Hamels, the kid so awesome that Jeff Lebowski refers to him as “The Dude.” Allowing only 21 hits & 8 earned runs in 35.2 postseason innings, Hamels appears to have entered the realm of “Big Game Pitcher” this year, and would cement that status with a W tonight. He’ll have to deal with a slightly revamped Tampa lineup tonight, but it might be too little too late for Joe Maddon’s boys.

My prediction that the Rays would win the series in 6 (losing only the games Hamels starts) is obviously not coming true, but I hope Tampa manages to extend the series tonight. I’m not ready for baseball to go away just yet.

Weatherman says we might be in for a little rain tonight, but it shouldn’t be enough to postpone the game. I’m sure MLB is ecstatic about another World Series game ended after 1am.

Oh, and remember that kinda weird out-of-place “FISHY FISHY FISHY” song that played during the Game Three pregame ceremonies? The creator of the song left a comment on the game thread. How cool is that?